Medical Ethics

How HIV/AIDS got its name − the words Americans used for the crisis were steeped in science, stigma and religious language

By Anthony Petro — September 4, 2024
(The Conversation) — The nascent LGBTQ+ rights movement and the Christian right each strongly shaped the early years of HIV/AIDS, a historian explains.
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US Catholics more polarized than ever about still-popular Pope Francis, survey says

By Aleja Hertzler-McCain — April 12, 2024
(RNS) — The Republican and Republican-leaning favorability rating represents a decline, creating the largest partisan gap in approval of Francis since his papacy began.

Vatican to publish document on gender, surrogacy and human dignity next week

By Nicole Winfield — April 2, 2024
ROME (AP) — Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will hold his first news conference to present the document “Infinite Dignity, on human dignity,” on April 8, the Vatican announced Tuesday.

A new memoir examines how to reclaim faith after a bipolar diagnosis

By Yonat Shimron — March 8, 2024
(RNS) — In her new book, 'Devout: A Memoir of Doubt,' Gazmarian lays bare how inadequately the church and church-approved therapists treated her condition and how she struggled to find another way.

Chief justice’s Christian reasoning in IVF opinion sparks alarm over church-state separation

By Tiffany Stanley and Peter Smith — February 23, 2024
(AP) — By citing verses from the Bible and Christian theologians in his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Tom Parker alarmed advocates for church-state separation, while delighting religious conservatives who oppose abortion.

CVS employee fired for refusing to sell birth control sues, claiming discrimination

By Fiona André — January 31, 2024
(RNS) — Gunna Kristofersdottir joins three other former CVS nurses who sued the company for religious discrimination after being fired for similar reasons. 

Pope Francis calls for a universal ban on surrogacy. He says it exploits mother and child

By Nicole Winfield — January 8, 2024
ROME (AP) — He said the life of the unborn child must be protected and not “suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking.”

How Dominican women fight child marriage and teen pregnancy while facing total abortion bans

By MarÍa Teresa HernÁndez — January 2, 2024
AZUA, Dominican Republic (AP) — With a Bible on its flag, the Caribbean country has a powerful lobby of Catholics and evangelicals who are united against decriminalizing abortion.

US Catholic leadership foresees challenges after repeated election defeats for abortion opponents

By David Crary — December 20, 2023
(AP) — The latest rebuff came Nov. 7 in Ohio, when voters decisively approved a constitutional amendment that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care.

Abortion vote in Ohio pushes ‘pro-life pro-choice’ Black clergy to take a side

By Kathryn Post — November 6, 2023
(RNS) — For some clergy, the fall of Roe v. Wade has motivated them to speak out on abortion for the first time.

Faith-based health organizations defend at-risk AIDS initiative from Republicans

By Yonat Shimron — October 3, 2023
(RNS) — Many faith-based organizations opposed to abortion are fighting for PEPFAR, an AIDS program that some Republicans now claim provides abortion services.

Amputees can get their body parts back for spiritual reasons, new Oregon law says

By Associated Press — August 24, 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — For some members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, keeping a person’s body together is necessary for a smooth transition to the spirit world.

Richard Dawkins has abandoned science to justify his transphobia

By Hemant Mehta — August 1, 2023
(RNS) — It’s jarring to see the world’s most famous atheist use his massive platform to downplay or deny trans identities.
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